Lange said the railroad does not put parameters on who can contact the railroad company; anyone involved with a particular event can supply notification and requests for changes to railroad schedules or procedures.

Is in some cases UP is capable of holding freight train traffic to accommodate events if early notification is given, Lange said.

"We try to work with communities as best as we can," he said.

In some cases, railroads can enact a temporary speed limit for a designated event area, said Laszlo Loky, a presenter for Operation Lifesaver Inc., a non-profit organization that provides public education programs on railroad safety.

In those cases, trains are required to lower their speed to 20 mph or under to provide more time for the emergency systems and for people to stop or get off of the tracks, Loky said.

Lange said the NTSB is looking into whether a permit was obtained for the annual event.

He said that the city or Show of Support organizers would have been responsible for filing permits and contacting the railroad company.

The event organizers would have to fill out a right-of-way use permit for a special event and street closure application as part of the with the permit approval process, said Ryan Stout, interim public information officer for the city. These forms are available on the city's website, Stout said.

The right-of-way use permit for special events states that an organization must carry a general liability insurance policy that provides public liability coverage in the minimum amount of $1 million for bodily injury to or death of one or more persons and $250,000 for property damage per occurrence.

Officials for the city declined to comment while the NTSB investigation is ongoing.

Investigators with the NTSB will be speaking with the driver, who the San Antonio Express-News has identified as Dale Hayden, 50, an employee of Smith Industries Inc.

The NTSB will be performing a sight-distance test today to determine what the engineer could see and what actions could have been taken to prevent the crash.

The investigators will take photographs and make measurements at the crash site, as well as reenacting elements of the crash for analysis.